Love, Daisies, and Luke
by yogakills
Summary: Starts in "Love, Daisies, and Troubadours." Max shows up late giving Luke just enough time to tell Lorelai the real reason behind Rachel leaving. What will this mean for our favorite couple? JavaJunkie.
1. Timing is key

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.**

**Netflix has helped to restore my love of this TV show. So this is my very first fic in the GG-verse. This is just another what-if story. I know this has been done before but I wanted to try my hand about the whole what-if Luke actually told Lorelai the reason that Rachel left. So behold, this fic was born.**

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Lorelai rushed around her room trying to get ready for her date with Max. Of course she had told him repeatedly to be late. But knowing him and his need for punctuality he would probably be early. When she said 7, it never meant 7. It meant 7:15 or sometimes even 7:30. Yet Max was always on time, it was annoying but it was just who he was and she was happy with him.

Whenever she was with him they always had a fun time. Their dates were always great, sometimes even spectacular. And the sex, the sex was wonderful. She would notice herself daydreaming about him at the Inn. Daydreaming about him always put a smile on her face. Even Sookie seemed to notice the happy mood that Max put her in. She even chose to comment on the happy mood, which helped to cure her of the ennui she apparently contracted from Michel.

Although she was happy with him, she wasn't completely sure if she loved him. He was an all-around great guy and she could see herself loving him one day in the future. Besides it wasn't like he loved her or if he did then he hadn't told her. That was all fine though, right now they were in a great spot. Dating and happy.

Lorelai stepped back from her vanity and groaned when the doorbell rang. Max. He was annoyingly on time just as she predicted. She snatched her shoes up from her bed and walked out of her room. As she was walking out of her room, the doorbell rang again.

"You're annoyingly on time again," Lorelai called out as she began to walk down the stairs and put on her shoes at the same time. "Ugh," she groaned when she realized that putting on shoes and walking down stairs at the same time was not a good idea. "Okay stairs then shoes, stairs then shoes."

At the bottom of the staircase, Lorelai slipped on her shoes. She then walked to the front door taking a moment to pause and look in the small mirror in the hallway to fix her hair before opening up the door. To her surprise it wasn't Max who was on the opposite side of the door, it was Luke dressed in his usual flannel.

"Oh hi," Lorelai greeted, the surprise evident in her voice.

"Hey," Luke replied. His eyes roamed up and down her body as he quickly took in her outfit. "You're all dressed up."

Lorelai quickly looked down at her outfit, her date outfit with Max. "Oh, I'm going out." She didn't need to say who, Luke already knew about Max. He could put the pieces together.

"Oh sorry. I forgot my toolbox so I just thought I'd come pick it up," Luke replied. It was a flimsy excuse. Well not so flimsy since his toolbox was here. But after his talk with Rachel, he decided to take her advice. Maybe Rachel was on to something.

Lorelai nodded. "Oh yeah. It's right over here," she said as she led him to the spot on the ground where the toolbox sat. "Rory and I couldn't lift it or we would've brought it to you and then we got used to having it here, so we named it Bert and we'd say Goodnight Bert and it'd say Goodnight girls and we spend too much time home alone," she quickly stopped talking when she noticed he was babbling. Why was she babbling?

Luke bent down and picked the toolbox up. "Well, thanks for taking care of it."

Lorelai smiled. "Our pleasure."

Luke sat the toolbox down on the hall table. It was now or never, he needed to tell Lorelai the reason that Rachel left. "So Rachel left."

"What!" Lorelai exclaimed, clearly shocked. She thought that Rachel was sticking around, at least that's what it seemed like to her. Luke did seem like he was going to give her a chance.

"Last night," Luke explained. "She left. For good." He had to add that last little part in to show that her leaving was serious this time, she wasn't going to come back.

"Oh no, Luke I'm so sorry. What happened?" Lorelai asked out of genuine concern for her friend.

"Ah," Luke sighed. "It's hard to explain."

"I can't believe it. I thought she was really in it for the long haul this time," Lorelai replied. And she really did. She wasn't completely comfortable with the idea for some reason that she couldn't explain but it would make Luke happy so she was happy for him.

"Yeah well," Luke shrugged his shoulders. "She had her reasons."

"Really? What?" Lorelai questioned curiously. She leaned against the table that the toolbox was placed on.

"It's...well..." Luke sighed again. He now wasn't sure if he should tell her Besides she was all dressed up and probably about to go out with that guy that she was with at the town meeting recently. Then again if he didn't tell her now, he might not ever have the chance. "I shouldn't bother you with this. You're about to go out."

"No Luke, I want to know. I don't have enough fingers to count the times that you have been there for me and Rory, but I probably could count on one hand the times that I did anything for you," Lorelai replied. It was true, she did a few things for Luke but never much. He never really seemed like he needed help. She did help him more recently with the Rachel situation though but now that looked like a total bust. "So what's going on?"

"She left because there's another girl," Luke admitted in a hurry.

"Another girl?" Lorelai asked. "You mean, are you dating someone else?" she asked but quickly shook that from her head. Luke wasn't seeing anyone. "Or is the other girl for Rachel? I thought she was interested in you, not another girl."

Luke shook his head. "I'm not dating anyone and the other girl is not for Rachel." He let out a breath, it was now or never. "The other girl is you."

Lorelai took a step back, "Me?" she asked blinking her eyes. "The other girl is me? What does that even mean? She left because of me? I didn't do anything, did I? I'm so, so sorry if I did."

When Rachel pointed out that Luke was spending a lot of time at Lorelai's house recently, she simply pointed out that he was fixing things. He was Mr. Fix It after all. But that's all, he was just fixing things. Nothing else. Or at least not what she was trying to imply. Or what Lorelai thought she was trying to imply.

Luke shook his head again. "No you didn't do anything."

"Well if I didn't do anything then why did she leave? You said it was because of me," Lorelai quickly pointed out.

Luke took a deep breath and prepared to take the plunge. "Lorelai there's something I need to tell you."

Lorelai suddenly felt nervous, maybe it had to do with the way that Luke was now looking at her. "What is it?" she asked, her voice shaky.

"Rachel left because she thought that I had...well have feelings for you," Luke admitted.

Lorelai's breath caught in her throat. He couldn't possibly have feelings for her. They were friends. They saw each other every day. But they were friends, nothing more. Although everyone else did seem to think that Luke had feelings for her. That couldn't possibly be true though. Right? Yet she did find herself asking.

"Well do you?" Lorelai asked. She continued on to clarify her question. "Do you have feelings for me?"

"Look," Luke said. "I know that you're seeing that guy now and you're probably about to go out with him but Rachel told me not to wait too late to tell you. So here I am."

"Tell me what?" Lorelai asked, her voice just above a whisper. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. She found herself hoping that Max didn't show up for at least a few more minutes so she could continue talking with Luke.

"Rachel pointed it out to me but I think it's something that I have known for a long time. She thought we were more than friends. I tried to tell her that wasn't true but she saw through that. To be honest, I have thought about you in a more than just friends kind of way. I do have those kind of feelings for you. There were times before when I thought something was going to happen but it never did."

Lorelai stood speechless as Luke ranted on about why Rachel left, why she was the reason behind it, and apparently the fact that the entire town was right and that he did have feelings for her. She was conflicted to say the least. Here she was about to go out on date with her current boyfriend while her friend/coffee supplier confessed his feelings for her. This was too much.

"And I know you're about to go out with that guy but I needed to say this. I do have feelings for you, I have for a while. Since the moment you walked into my diner. I don't know how you feel but I wanted to take Rachel's advice and tell you," Luke ended his rant. "Can you just at least give this some thought?"

"Oh Luke," Lorelai sighed, completely floored by the news.

Just as Luke was going to say something else there was a knock on the door. Lorelai peered around Luke to see Max entering through the cracked door. He mentioned something about how he actually managed to be late this time like Lorelai asked. He noticed the palpable tension in the air that seemed to surround Lorelai and Luke.

Lorelai quickly stuffed everything that Luke had just told her into the back of her mind as she introduced the two fellows. It was awkward. Luke was suddenly defensive claiming he saw Lorelai all the time, which she knew the reason behind it was because he just confessed her had feelings for her. Lorelai promised that she would talk to him soon, she needed time to process everything that just happened. Max said that it would probably be tomorrow since they would be back late. Lorelai promised again that she would definitely talk to him. She had to. It would be sometime soon. After Luke left, Lorelai mentioned she needed to get her purse before they left for their date. At this point, she really didn't want to go but canceling would only raise suspicion.

Suspicion that Max apparently already felt since he said he thought there was something going on between her and Luke. There wasn't anything going on between them, at least not until tonight. A few seconds ago really. All because he picked up something. He was good. That led to a discussion of what happened during the time that they were apart. She admitted that she didn't remain inactive.

"So you did date Luke?" Max questioned following her around the living room.

Lorelai groaned, he was bringing up Luke again. "No, I did not date Luke."

"You can tell me," Max replied, he could take it if she did date him. She was with him now.

"I did not date Luke," Lorelai assured him. Again.

"There was a vibe," Max pointed out.

_Was there a vibe? Lorelai thought. _She definitely felt _something _when Luke confessed his feelings for her. But she wouldn't admit that. "There was no vibe. What is with the questioning? You won't tell me who you dated."

Max shrugged his shoulders. "There's no one you know."

"Okay, well, did you date like casual nothing type dating or did you date like get down, soul train kind of a dating?" Lorelai asked. If he was going to keep up with the question, she was going to give him a taste of her own medicine.

"Well, I wouldn't have phrased it that way, but to be honest, it was the latter," Max admitted.

"Good, good. Okay. Well, I like your honesty. Because I mean you could've lied and left that part out to spare my feelings which would've been unnecessary," Lorelai replied, she was annoyed at this point. "So thank you, that was good. I slept with Rory's dad," she blurted out.

"Let's change the subject."

"On my parents' balcony."

"I want to change the subject."

Lorelai planted her hands on her hips. "Okay, well you started it."

"I did not mean for this to become a who slept with whom contest."

"Well, how did it get that way?" Lorelai asked softly.

"I don't know." Max admitted with a sigh. "Why do we do this? Why do we let it get weird between us just when it's getting good again?"

Lorelai shrugged her shoulders as she looked down at the ground. "I don't know."

"I don't like it."

"I don't either."

"And I'm sick of it," Max said.

Lorelai looked up to meet his eyes. "Well, so am I."

"We can't keep getting this close just to have something completely derail us again. And frankly there's only one thing I can think of that could solve it," Max responded.

"Break up," Lorelai replied logically. It made the most sense. It's what she and Max did, there were an on-again, off-again relationship. Plus this could give her time to think about Luke and his confession.

"Ugh," Max groaned clearly showing disinterest in the idea.

"Well, I'm not interested in a murder-suicide kind of thing," Lorelai replied.

"We should get married," Max said calmly.

Lorelai stood staring at him completely speechless. First Luke confesses her feelings for her and she was woman enough to admit that she did find him attractive and she had wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Then her boyfriend proposes to her. It was not the ideal way, and was probably a joke. But man she was on a roll tonight. They both had stellar timing.

She finally found words. "Give me a clue as to whether you're kidding or not."

Max shook his head and took a step closer to her. "I am not kidding."

Lorelai nodded, "Good clue."

"What do you say?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nothing. Max, you did not just propose to me."

"Yes I did."

"No. A proposal had to be something more than the desperate desire to end a bickering match."

"It was more than that," Max reassured her. It was definitely more than that, at least to him.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, it has to be planned. It should be magical. There should be music playing and romantic lighting and a subtle buildup to the popping of the big question. There should be a thousand yellow daisies and candles and a horse and I don't know what the horse is doing there unless you're riding it, which seems a little over the top, but it should be more than this."

That was a dream proposal. Probably a little over the top because a thousand yellow daisies was impractical, right? But still the idea sounded good. But with Max? Maybe not so much. Besides right now, she was way too focused on Luke. More than she should be at a moment like this.

Max nodded, "You're right."

"I am right," Lorelai replied.

"I'm sorry."

Lorelai shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay." It wasn't completely okay. It was just too much, way too much. But she could let him feel like it was okay. At least for now.

"Can we start over?" Max asked to which Lorelai found herself nodding yes too. She wasn't sure why she said they could start over. Really she should just say no, stay home, and mull over just what her life was turning out to be right now. Two guys vying for her attention.

"Ready to go?" Max asked.

Lorelai nodded again. Again she should have said no and stayed home. But after this entire conversation with Max saying no might cause more problems. Besides she could think over what Luke said on her date with Max. Maybe going out with Max would give her some more clarity on just what she wanted. Maybe. So she allowed Max to guide her to the front door.

"Bye, bye Bert," Lorelai whispered softly with thoughts of Luke on her mind as Max escorted her out of the house and to his awaiting car.

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**Review please? Let me know if I should continue.**


	2. Clarity on the Horizon

**Disclaimer in first chapter.**

**I'm glad you guys are interested in this story. Hope you enjoy my take on this. Thanks for reviewing.**

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The date had barely lasted an hour before Max's car was once again pulling up in front of Lorelai's house. On their drive to the restaurant as well as their drive home, she was silent. She couldn't think of anything witty or clever to say with Luke's words racing through her head as well as Max's spontaneous proposal that she was sure was just to end their bickering match. He swore it was more than that though. She held strong to her opinion.

Max picked up on Lorelai's silence on their way to the restaurant as well as once they were in the restaurant and assumed it was because of his proposal earlier in the evening. He apologized again and she assured him again that everything was fine, just fine. She did though ask him to drive her home and assured him that he wasn't because of him but because she had a headache. Which she did, a headache developed as she tried to sort out her feelings for both Max and Luke. So they left the restaurant before they were even asked what they wanted to eat and Max drove her back home.

"I'm sorry again about tonight," Max said as he walked with Lorelai up to her front door.

Lorelai waved off his concern. "It's fine. Really. I just have a headache, not really in the mood to be out tonight."

Max nodded. "I understand, it's already been a crazy night."

The corners of her lips turned up in a small smile. Crazy night was an understatement. She nodded. "Yes it has been."

"I'll call you tomorrow?" Max offered.

"That would be good," Lorelai replied.

Max leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. There was nothing special about the kiss, just a chaste goodnight kiss during which she found herself wondering how Luke would kiss. He broke the kiss and whispered goodnight to her before he walked away from the porch and headed towards his car. Lorelai didn't wait for him to drive away before she headed inside her house. Her shoes were immediately kicked off into a pile by the front door. She went to drop her purse on the table in the hallway but stopped when she saw that Luke's toolbox still resided there. He forgot it earlier in the evening.

Lorelai just groaned and headed into the living where she collapsed down on the couch. She flung her arm over her face and closed her eyes wishing that things hadn't ended up so complicated in the span of just two hours.

"Mom?" Rory called out since she heard the commotion Lorelai made when she came in.

"Living room," Lorelai called back.

Rory walked out of her room and into the living room where she found her mother on the couch still in her date clothes minus the shoes. "I thought you had a date with Max tonight."

"I did," Lorelai replied, not opening her eyes.

"Did something happen?" Rory asked, she moved and sat on the chair opposite of the couch. "Did you two break-up?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Nope. We're still together. I just asked him to bring me home. I don't feel that well."

She really didn't want to unload all of this on Rory, at least not right now. She wanted to think about things a little more before she roped her daughter into the mess. She knew that she needed to talk with Rory about it and that Rory could possibly help her figure everything out but right now she was going to try and work this out for herself.

"Are you okay?" Rory asked. "Do you need something?"

Lorelai shook her head, "It's just a headache Rory."

"There's some aspirin in the kitchen, I could get you that," Rory replied.

Lorelai finally opened her eyes and pushed up from the couch. "I'll get it. Thanks anyways though babe."

Rory got up from her chair and followed her mom into the kitchen. "Are you sure you're okay? It seems like this is more than just a headache."

Lorelai opened the cabinet and quickly found the aspirin. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took the medicine before replying to Rory. "I'm fine. Don't worry about this babe. Now I'm just going to go upstairs, take a bath, and try to relax."

"If you're sure," Rory said skeptically.

Lorelai nodded. "I'm sure," she kissed her daughter on the cheek. "Goodnight hun."

"Goodnight Mom."

Lorelai climbed the stairs still clutching the bottle of water in her hand. She headed down the hall and into the bathroom. She turned on the faucets and spend a few seconds adjusting them so the temperature of the water was to her liking. While the water filled the tub, she reached for her favorite smelling bubble bath and poured a generous amount in. Maybe if she could just relax and clear her mind, things would be easier. At least that was the goal of the bubble bath.

After her bubble bath that should have been relaxing but really wasn't, Lorelai made her way to her bedroom wrapped in her white, fluffy robe. She curled up on her bed and willed herself to sleep. That would get her mind off of everything. However sleep didn't come. There was too much on her mind for her to sleep. It was too early for her to sleep anyways.

Instead she laid wide awake, staring up at the ceiling. Her thoughts were mainly those of Luke. Luke who apparently had feelings for her. Of course everyone in town had told her that a few times before, even her mother commented on it but she always thought that they were just joking around or something. But now it was true, confirmed by the very man himself. And he even admitted her had feelings for her since the very first day she walked into the diner. She didn't remember that day at all. It had to be the first day they ever met yet she couldn't remember it.

There was something about the way that he looked at her earlier that made her weak in the knees. Perhaps that's what everyone else saw when he looked at her. She loved that look. No man ever looked at her like that, not even Max or Christopher. Why hadn't she noticed that look before?

Well actually she knew that answer to that. She never allowed herself to look any deeper out of fear of losing Luke. Any time that she would get close to Luke or even think that something could be there, she reminded herself to step back, to not do something to ruin their friendship. Yet tonight she had no choice but to look deeper, to question their friendship and if it should be taken to the next step. Luke certainly seemed like he wanted to take the next step, to cross that friendship line. She had to admit that it was very gutsy to admit all of that when he knew that Max would be there soon.

At first she wanted to curse Luke's timing but now she just wondered if his timing was actually perfect. Maybe him stepping up like that meant something. Maybe it was meant to happen. Maybe it was meant to happen at that certain moment to make her question everything with Max. It's not like she was going to say yes to the proposal, especially since it was spontaneous and not at the right moment. But what if Max asked again, then she wasn't quite sure what she would say.

Lorelai groaned loudly and sat up in bed. Her mind kept going back and forth between Luke and Max. Really more towards Luke but there were thoughts of Max in there as well. Luke was a great guy and had been there for both her and Rory since they became friends. She could imagine a relationship with him feeling natural. They were already great friends after all. Things with Max always ended up complicated. Like Max said earlier they always let things get weird. That could be a sign that things would never work out with them.

Remembering that she promised Luke they would talk, even though she said they would talk it wasn't like they had to talk about Luke's revelation earlier they could talk about anything, Lorelai reached over onto her nightstand and grabbed her phone. She quickly punched in his number. She had his apartment number just in case she ever needed it but she never really needed it before now. After a few rings, Luke's voice came on the phone.

"Hello?"

Lorelai smiled for the first time that night. He sounded sleepy and she found his sleepy voice sexy. "Were you asleep?" She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was just a little before ten, too early for her to sleep. "It's early."

"Who is this?" Luke questioned.

"Just how many girls have your number Lucas?" Lorelai teased, her mood taking a change for the better. "Or should I be insulted that you don't remember your favorite customer?"

Luke sighed, he should of known. "Lorelai."

"That would be me," Lorelai replied. "You didn't answer my question from before...were you asleep? Because it is early."

"Well I get up early," Luke replied. "I do have a diner to run."

"Right, right," Lorelai nodded to herself. She took a deep breath, she wasn't ready to have that talk yet. She wasn't even sure what that talk was. But there was ting on her mind. "So about earlier..."

In his apartment, Luke moved to sit down on the couch with the phone pressed up against his ear. Ever since he admitted his feelings for Lorelai at her house earlier, he waited to hear something from her. But he didn't expect it to be tonight, she did have a date with that putz Max tonight.

"Yeah?" Luke said as he braced himself for whatever decision she had made. He would be hurt if she rejected him but he thought they could still be friends. Maybe the timing was just off.

"I thought about what you said and it got me to thinking," Lorelai replied. She heard a sharp intake of breath come from Luke's end of the phone. "I don't remember how we met."

"What?" Luke asked, he was confused now. This was not going in the direction that he thought.

"Well earlier you said you had these feelings," Lorelai said, finding the words a little had to get out, "since the moment I walked into the diner, which I am assuming is the day we met. But I don't really remember that day. I know that we met at Luke's but nothing after that."

"It was at Luke's," Luke confirmed.

Lorelai's smile grew a little bigger, she leaned back against the headboard and tucked her feet underneath her. "Are you going to tell me the story?"

Luke nodded to himself, he was happy to share the story. He already shared so much with her tonight, she deserved to know how they met. "I'll tell you if you can keep quiet."

"I make no promises."

Luke knew that was the best he was going to get out of her. He decided to go on with the story. "It was at Luke's, it was at lunch, it was a very busy day, the place was packed, and this person..."

Lorelai gasped. "Ooh, is it me? Is it me?"

Luke continued on with his story. "This person comes tearing into the place in a caffeine frenzy."

Lorelai smiled, her mood vastly improved since she arrived home from her date with Max. At the moment, Max wasn't even on her mind. "Ooh, it's me."

"I was with a customer. She interrupts me, wild-eyed, begging for coffee, so I tell her to wait her turn. Then she starts following me around, talking a mile a minute, saying God knows what. So finally I turn to her, and I tell her she's being annoying - sit down, shut up, I'll get to her when I get to her," Luke replied. He remembered that moment well. Even though she was being annoying, he was instantly captivated by her bright blue eyes.

"Y'know, I bet she took that very well, 'cause she sounds just delightful."

Luke smiled as the memory of the day rolled through his mind. "She asked me what my birthday was. I wouldn't tell her. She wouldn't stop talking. I gave in. I told her my birthday. Then she opened up the newspaper to the horoscope page, wrote something down, tore it out, handed it to me."

Lorelai pretended to snore, she was loving the story but it was being to drag just a little bit. "Hmm falling asleep over here Luke."

Luke just shook his head. She was impatient as the day he met her, the day that he was captivated by her. "So I'm looking at this piece of paper in my hand, and under "Scorpio," she had written, "you will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away." I gave her coffee."

Lorelai grinned brightly. The story was great. "But she didn't go away."

Luke reached forward and grabbed his wallet that he had tossed onto the coffee table earlier in the day. He pulled out a small scrap of paper and looked at while he finished the story. "She told me to hold on to that horoscope, put it in my wallet, and carry it around with me...one day it would bring me luck."

"Wow."

Luke's retelling of that day helped to bring a few details of her own to light about that day. Mia had told her about a place where she could get a great cup of coffee and even pointed out that the owner wasn't bad on the eyes. She just laughed it off at the moment because Mia had tried to set her up with a guy before. She should have listened to Mia that day and took special note of the diner owner.

Lorelai played with the tie on her robe, feeling just a little nervous about the next question she was going to ask. "So if we're being honest tonight...did you do as the caffeine-crazed lady said and keep the horoscope in your wallet?"

Luke nodded, still holding into the horoscope, it was faded but her loopy script was still legible. "Yeah I did," he admitted. He already put everything else on the line tonight and this would just help further show how deeply he felt for her.

"Oh Luke," Lorelai sighed dreamily. "You kept it even though I was some crazy lady you didn't know at all?"

"You're just lucky I never clean out my wallet," Luke replied. He knew that wasn't true. He couldn't explain the exact reason that he kept it but he did have plenty of opportunities to throw it away, he just never did. Maybe he was really waiting on it to bring him luck.

Lorelai pulled her knees up to her chest, she hugged them to her tightly. "Luke about earlier tonight...I know that it must have taken a lot for you to say that I just..." her voice faded away.

"You just what?" Luke asked.

"I just need time," Lorelai finished her sentence. "It's just...it was so sudden, ya know? I need to think a little more on this. It's a lot to take in."

"I understand Lorelai," Luke replied. "Rachel just told me not to wait too long and I didn't want to miss this chance."

"That Rachel is very insightful," Lorelai said.

"She is. I want you to know that whatever you decide, I'll still be here for you. We'll still be friends."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you Luke for saying that and for telling me the story of how we met. It's a very nice story."

"That it is."

"I promise we'll talk later, I need a little more time. I don't want you to think that I'm stringing you along by not saying anything, I just need time."

"I don't think that Lorelai," Luke replied. "I understand, you need time. You're with that guy but I just saw the chance so I took it."

Lorelai nodded once. "A very great chance to take."

"You don't have to give me an answer now. I thought about what Rachel said and I have wanted to say that for a long time, so you can take your time," Luke replied. "I'll be here."

Lorelai grinned. Luke was saying all the right things and opening up to her and right now the decision seemed just a bit easier to make. The way he looked at her combined with him keeping the horoscope that she gave him revealed to her things about Luke that other people seemed to see.

"You do realize that Bert is still at my house, right?" Lorelai asked.

Luke chuckled. He only remembered that he left the toolbox at her house when he got back to the diner earlier tonight. "Just take good care of him until I can get him."

Lorelai laughed. "I promise that I will." There was silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. "Goodnight Luke."

"Goodnight Lorelai."

Lorelai waited for Luke to hang up the phone before she placed the phone back down on her nightstand. She was glad that she made the phone call to Luke. Unlike trying to go on her date with Max, the phone call brought a little clarity to her situation. Of course that could all be washed away soon because she still had to talk to Max but for now things seemed a little clearer.

Content with how her phone call to Luke went and with the knowledge that Luke still held onto that little scrap of a horoscope, Lorelai laid back down in her bed. She pulled the covers over her and didn't bother to change out of her robe and into her pajamas before she tried once again to will herself to sleep.

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**Some lines were taken from "Written In The Stars."**


	3. Decision Time

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer in first chapter.**

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"A thousand yellow daisies?" Sookie asked after Lorelai recounted the story of just why the lobby of the Inn was covered in flowers. Kirk was currently removing the flowers from the lobby. She held her hands together and swooned, "Oh that's so romantic!"

After the phone call with Luke the night before, Lorelai slept peacefully. She dreamed of Luke that night, a weird re-telling of the day they met, and woke up feeling at ease with the decision that she was going to have to make. Then the phone call came. A phone call by an annoyed Michel that suggested she get to the Inn immediately. When she arrived at the Inn, Kirk was there delivering exactly a thousand yellow daisies. That's when she called Max and he proposed again declaring his love for her. He told her that he wanted her to think on this, as he had, before she made her ultimate decision.

The gesture was overwhelming. It was everything she said to him the night before, minus the horse. Once again, her decision was starting to waver. Just when she thought her mind was absolutely sure, in come the daisies. A gesture of Max's love for her. But then Luke still held onto the horoscope she gave him a few years back. That was right up there with the gesture of the yellow daisies. Only Luke's wasn't nearly as large and almost disruptive to her business. Which wasn't a bad thing.

"Hello?" Sookie waved her hand in front of Lorelai's face. "Earth to Lorelai, you're spacing out on me here."

"Oh sorry," Lorelai immediately apologized. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking with that dreamy look on your face," Sookie said. "I can only imagine that you're thinking about your handsome boyfriend that just proposed to you."

"Hmm yeah," Lorelai replied, not entirely sure if she even believed herself. Yes Max was on her mind how could he not be? But Luke was also there, Luke and his horoscope.

Sookie sat down next to Lorelai on her own stool. "Is something wrong? Because that's not the face of a woman that was just proposed to."

"It's," Lorelai said as she looked for something else to say to explain the way the she felt. She needed someone to confess things about Luke too and Sookie was going to be that person she decided. "It's just that something sort of happened between me and Luke."

Sookie gasped. "What happened between you two? Did you sleep together? Oh you slept with Luke! When did you sleep with Luke? Was it good?"

"Sookie," Lorelai called to get her attention. "I didn't sleep with Luke."

Sookie pouted. "Oh, so then what happened? Oh did you two kiss then?"

"Nothing physical happened between us. No sleeping together or no kissing," Lorelai replied. "It's more of an emotional type of thing I guess that happened."

"Okay, now I'm confused."

"Okay let me explain. You'll understand a little better if I explain."

Lorelai took a deep breath before launching into all the events of the night before staring with Luke showing up at her doorstep and informing her that Rachel took off. She told Sookie about Luke's feelings and how she felt when Luke confessed everything to her. She confessed about the first time Max proposed, a fact that she conveniently left out earlier when she was talking to Sookie about the thousand yellow daisies. She continued on with the story of her failed date with Max that only lasted an hour before she came back home. She ended with the phone call she placed to Luke and how Luke recounted the story of the first day they met and how he still held onto the horoscope she gave him a few years back.

"I knew it!" Sookie squealed. "I told you that Luke had feelings for you!"

"You and everyone else in the town," Lorelai replied.

"Oh this is so great! You two can finally be together! You two will be such a cute couple. Just think he's liked you for years and he finally admits it, it's like a scene from a romantic movie," Sookie crooned.

"Sookie there is the slight problem of Max," Lorelai reminded her.

"You haven't said yes to his proposal yet," Sookie pointed out.

Lorelai nodded. "True."

"And if I had to choose between Luke or Max, I would choose Luke."

Lorelai laughed. "Sookie you have a boyfriend, remember Jackson?"

"I know, I know, I was just saying." Sookie put her friend on Lorelai's shoulder. "I know this is a big gesture by Max but didn't you just tell me that before you came here today and before the daisies that it was clear you wanted Luke?"

"Yeah but..."

Sookie shook her head. "No buts. I just think you're scared of actually wanting to start something with Luke."

Lorelai scoffed, "I'm not scared," she said, not sure that she even believed herself.

"I think you are," Sookie replied. "You're scared because Luke has always been your friend. And if you started something with him and it didn't work out then you could lose him as a friend. But with Max you guys are good for a while then you're not. I think he's trying to suck you in with big gestures but Luke is always there for you, always."

"Luke is always there," Lorelai pondered.

"And the look on your face when you were talking about Luke earlier and the horoscope he kept, I haven't ever seen that look on your face," Sookie said. "It's not the way that you look when you talk about Max. It's really the same way that Luke looks at you. I think you really do like him."

"I do like him," Lorelai admitted for the first time out loud. "And he is always there. And when he told me how he felt, it was amazing. I don't think I ever felt that way around Max. Everything was so clear before I got here this morning."

"The daisies were romantic but this is Luke we're talking about," Sookie replied. "Luke who has liked you for years. I always thought you two would be together at some point and apparently Rachel did too, and maybe this is your time to be together."

Lorelai nodded. Sookie was making a lot of sense. "When did you get so insightful Sookie?" she asked, titling her head to the side.

"Hmm I think it helps that I'm in a happy relationship with Jackson," Sookie replied. "Just like you should be in a happy relationship with Luke."

Lorelai smiled, "Yeah, Luke."

"So it's going to be Luke?" Sookie asked eagerly. "You're going to say no to Max's proposal and then tell Luke that you want to be with him?"

Lorelai slowly nodded her head. "Yeah I think it's right. I mean it's Luke. My Luke. The proposal from Max just doesn't feel right but Luke telling me how he feels and telling me the story of the day we met, well it just feels perfect. Luke is who I want."

Sookie squealed and hugged her best friend. "Oh this is so exciting! Well I mean not for Max but for you and Luke! So when are you going to tell him?"

"I think I need to talk with Rory first," Lorelai explained, "This will affect her in a big way. Max is her teacher and Luke is well he's Luke and a big part of our lives. I want to make sure she's okay with the Luke thing before moving forward. There was a time not too long ago where she said I couldn't date Luke. But I think if she knows that this is serious then it will be better and she'll like the idea."

"She will love the idea! And so will everyone else," Sookie replied. "I can't believe you two are finally going to be together."

Lorelai smiled. "I know, me either. This is exciting."

After Sookie told Lorelai once again that she loved the idea of her getting together with Luke, Lorelai left the kitchen of the Inn determined to help in Luke removing some of the daisies from the Inn. Talking with Sookie did make her realize that Luke is the one that she truly wanted to be with. Yes the daisies were romantic but there didn't always need a big gesture to show one's love. Between the daisies and a horoscope from years back, she chose the horoscope.

* * *

Later that evening Lorelai returned home after helping Kirk distribute the daisies across town and hoping that Luke didn't find out the meaning behind the daisies. She wanted to tell Luke the reason for herself but also wanted to tell him her decision to say no to the proposal and yes to him. Before she could do that though, she needed to talk to Max and give her answer as well as explain things to Rory.

Rory came home not too long after her mother and immediately asked about the daisies since she was handed some on her walk through town. Lorelai sat her down and calmly explained all the major life events that happened since the day before. She explained Max's proposal, Luke's confession, and the reasons behind why she was going to make the decision to say yes to Luke and no to Max.

"And you're okay with this?" Lorelai asked. "Me talking with Luke and you know, starting to date him?"

"I just told you I was fine with this," Rory replied.

"Yeah but remember when I asked you before about Luke and you told me I couldn't date him because if we broke up then we wouldn't be able to eat the diner?" Lorelai reminded her daughter.

Rory nodded. "I remember that but everyone knows that Luke likes you and if you like him and he will make you happy then I just want you to be happy."

"I could not ask for a better kid," Lorelai said sincerely. "So you're not disappointed that I'm going to have to dump Max?"

"I did like Max and I grew close to the idea of you two together but if you did say yes to him and then you did get married, I would be living with a teacher of mine," Rory replied. "It could be weird."

Lorelai sighed. "I guess I should call him. The sooner the better, right?"

Rory nodded. "That's the way the saying goes."

Lorelai looked at the phone sitting on the coffee table and then back at Rory. "Give me some privacy?" she suggested.

"Of course but first I need to tell you something about Dean," Rory replied.

After listening to her daughter explain that she and Dean were back together because Rory told him that she loved him, Lorelai picked up the phone and hesitated before punching in Max's phone number. While she waited for Max to answer, Lorelai headed upstairs to her bedroom to make sure she had the privacy she needed. Rory was already locked away in her room but Lorelai still decided to head upstairs.

"Max," Lorelai said when Max answered the phone with 'hello.'

"Lorelai," Max replied. "I missed you since your call this morning. I thought you might give it more thought than this but have you made up your mind or is there a different reason for this call?"

Lorelai took a deep breath before she replied. "No, I have made up my mind."

"And what would your answer be Lorelai Gilmore?" Max asked.

Lorelai could practically hear him smiling through the phone. She didn't want to do this, he obviously thought that things were going in a different direction than she did. But after talking with Sookie then spending the rest of the afternoon pondering over Luke and Max, Lorelai was sure of her decision to say no to Max. Luke was the guy for her, the one she wanted to be with.

"Max, I'm sorry," was all that Lorelai could say at the moment.

"Lorelai, what are you trying to say?" Max asked.

"Max you're good with words, you know what I'm trying to say," Lorelai replied. Deciding that she probably did need to say the actual words, she continued on. "My answer is no."

"What?" Max stuttered. "No?"

Lorelai nodded to herself. "Yes."

"So your answer is yes?" Max asked sounding confused.

"No," Lorelai replied. "My answer isn't yes, my answer is no."

"I don't understand. I thought that was the proposal you wanted. I bought the thousand yellow daisies. I know I wasn't there but I sent the daisies. And there wasn't a horse but I can get a horse. I don't know where I will get a horse but I can get one if that is the deal breaker," Max replied, still confused as to why she was saying no.

"No Max, it's not the fact that you didn't have a horse. That's an insane idea anyways," Lorelai said as she walked across the room and sat down on her bed. "It's just that...us, we wouldn't work. We barely work as a couple, we would never make it as husband and wife."

Max sighed. "Lorelai, we're in a good spot. We're doing great right now."

"That's the point," Lorelai pointed out. "We're doing good right now but it won't be too long before things get bad again. We can't just jump into a marriage because things have been good for a few weeks."

"Well you can take more time to think on this Lorelai. I told you to take all the time that you needed. I love you Lorelai Gilmore."

She knew as soon as he said he loved her earlier that she didn't love him. Hearing him saying that he loved her again just proved that point. She felt nothing when he said those three little words. Which also just further helped to prove how she felt about Luke.

"I took the time that I needed," Lorelai replied. "I thought about this since last night and then again this morning when you proposed again, and my answer is no. I'm sure of that."

"I consider myself a smart man but I just don't understand this. I did everything that you asked, you wanted the thousand yellow daisies. You wanted a big romantic gesture of a proposal and that's what I did," Max repeated almost the same words from just a few minutes earlier.

"Yes and the idea of a thousand yellow daisies is great and romantic but it's a little impractical. Not to mention disruptive to the Inn."

The gesture was great at first but then it became overwhelming. At one point she felt stifled by the flowers which is why she retreated to the kitchen where she immediately relayed the story to Sookie. Sookie was wrapped up in her kitchen duties so the flowers were not something she knew about until Lorelai told her. She paid Kirk to distribute the flowers, which she eventually helped with, which just lead to the notion that the flowers were a lot more trouble in reality then her just daydreaming about a thousand yellow daisies. It wasn't as if she could leave them in the lobby of the Inn. Guests had to be able to walk through the lobby without being attacked by daisies. One guest complained about the flowers before Kirk began to take them away because they caused his allergies to act up.

Max started to get a little agitated now. "What do you mean impractical and disruptive?"

Lorelai scoffed. She hoped she could just tell him no, that they wouldn't work out and she would be on her way but that wasn't the case. She knew better than that. A decision like this needed an explanation and now that she mentioned the trouble of the daisies, she had even more explaining to do.

"Max I run an Inn, I can't just have a thousand yellow daisies in the lobby. I have guests that need to be able to walk through the lobby without bumping into daises," Lorelai said, she began to get a little agitated as well. "Having that many flowers doesn't equal good business."

"I was going what you wanted. I was going with your idea of what a proposal should be, you're the one that suggested a thousand yellow daisies," Max replied, raising his voice just a little.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Well you proposed to end a fight. The daisies was just an idea, an impractical idea."

"I didn't propose just to end a fight," Max replied a little harsher than he meant too. He softened his voice, "I proposed because I love you."

"I don't love you," Lorelai replied automatically. She squeezed her eyes shut when she realized that she actually said that out loud instead of just in her head. She wasn't going to confess to him that she didn't actually love him but it just came out.

"You don't love me?" Max asked, he sounded surprised.

Lorelai sighed, she was caught now and needed to explain. "Honestly? No. I didn't really mean to say that but it's true." She wiped at a tear that started to roll down her face. "You're a great guy and we were great together, well some of the time. But I don't love you."

It was difficult to say but it needed to be said, it would explain why she didn't want to marry him. She didn't need to say anything about Luke because that would just start something else with Max since he was suspicious of Luke last night.

There was a long pause before Max replied. "Well I guess I know why you're saying no now."

"Yeah," Lorelai sighed.

Max couldn't think of anything else to say. He could question why Lorelai didn't love him but decided against it. He was already too hurt. He went out of his way to propose to a woman that he did truly love and she just stomped on his heart when she admitted that she didn't love him.

"Goodbye Lorelai Gilmore."

Lorelai didn't get a chance to say goodbye before the phone clicked off. She dropped the phone down onto her bed beside her, laid down on her back, and stared up at the ceiling. She swiped at a few more tears that had managed to escape. The tears weren't there because she regretted the decision they were just there over the pain of having to tell Max no and admitting that she didn't love him. She hated that she hurt him but it was better to admit this now then to let this drag on even more where she could very well end up freaking out and just leaving him at the altar. This was definitely the best decision for everyone.

Lorelai knew that she needed to talk with Luke and inform him of her decision but tonight she just didn't have any more energy, emotionally and physically. Today had been a draining day. Tomorrow. She would inform Luke of everything tomorrow. But for now, she just decided to get up, head downstairs, and hopefully spend a little time with her daughter to get her mind off of the phone call with Max.

* * *

**I have a few ideas I'm working on for a new story but if you have an idea that you would like to see written, feel free to send it to me and I'll see what I can do with it.**


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